Steve Zahn
| birth_place = Marshall, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = Gustavus Adolphus College Harvard University | occupation = Actor, comedian | yearsactive = 1990–present | spouse = | children = 2 }} Steven James Zahn ( ; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His films include Reality Bites (1994), That Thing You Do! (1996), Out of Sight (1998), Happy, Texas (1999), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Sahara (2005), Rescue Dawn (2007), the first three Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, Dallas Buyers Club (2013), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). Zahn has done voice acting in Chicken Little (2005), Escape from Planet Earth (2013), and The Good Dinosaur (2015). He has also worked regularly in television, including the recurring role of Davis McAlary on HBO's Treme (2010 to 2013). Early life Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Carleton Edward Zahn, a Lutheran minister, and Zelda Clair Zahn, a bookstore clerk and later a YMCA administrator.Braun, Liz (February 26, 2001). "Steve Zahn has a smart funny humour," Jam!. Retrieved September 15, 2017. His father is of German and Swedish descent, and his mother is of German ancestry. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School, and moved to the suburbs of Minneapolis for high school, where he acted in school plays and became a two-time Minnesota state speech champion.Simon, Alex (July 3, 2015). "Great Conversations: Steve Zahn," The Huffington Post Retrieved September 15, 2017.Covert, Colin (August 18, 2009). "Local boy Steve Zahn grows up," Star Tribune (Minneapolis). Retrieved September 15, 2017. He graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in 1986, planning eventually to join the United States Marine Corps. Career at the premiere of the movie Management, in which they both starred, 2008.]] Zahn attended Gustavus Adolphus College for one semester but dropped out after seeing the original West End production of Les Misérables. "I remember sitting through the second act thinking, I’m good as that guy standing on the barricade," Zahn recalled. "I wanted to be part of the circus."Riesman, Abraham (July 13, 2017). "Steve Zahn. Seriously." New York. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In 1987, Zahn made his professional stage debut in a Minnesota production of Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues after falsely claiming to be a member of Actors' Equity. His fellow actors suggested that Zahn study acting, inspiring him to enroll in American Repertory Theater's two-year training program.Copley, Rich (June 23, 2016). "Steve Zahn talks craft and Kentucky at UK’s Singletary Center," Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved on September 15, 2017. At A.R.T., he worked with the venerated stage director Andrei Șerban.O'Sullivan, Michael (July 13, 2007). "Steve Zahn . . . in All Seriousness," The Washington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In 1991, Zahn formed the Malaparte theater company with a group of actor friends, including Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard.Sternbergh, Adam (January 31, 2010). "The Ethan Hawke Actors Studio," New York. Retrieved September 16, 2017. From 1991 to 1992, he played Hugo Peabody in a national tour of Bye Bye Birdie starring Tommy Tune, and subsequently appeared in two Off-Broadway plays, Sophistry and Eric Bogosian's Suburbia.Klein, Alvin (March 15, 1992). "Tommy Tune and 'Bye Bye Birdie,'" The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2017. After his breakout film role in 1994's Reality Bites, Zahn quickly gained a reputation for playing amiable stoners, slackers, and sidekicks in films such as That Thing You Do! (1996), You've Got Mail (1998), and Out of Sight (1998).Rabin, Nathan (July 3, 2007). "Interview: Steve Zahn," The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In the 1990s, Zahn was often approached by fans who assumed that he was an archetypal Generation X slacker, which was not the case. He has said, "I’m the guy who gets up at six without an alarm clock. I was always that guy." In 1999, Zahn landed his first starring role in the critically acclaimed indie film Happy, Texas, for which he won a Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival.Ojumu, Akin (November 13, 1999). "Steve Zahn's habitual scene-stealing," The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In the wake of Happy, Texas, Zahn began playing darker, more nuanced characters. He received Oscar buzz for his role as Drew Barrymore's deadbeat ex in Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), and played the investigative journalist Adam Penenberg in Shattered Glass (2003).Smith, Neil (December 4, 2001). "Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)," BBC. Retrieved September 15, 2017. A longtime Werner Herzog fan, Zahn campaigned for the role of Vietnam prisoner of war Duane W. Martin in Herzog's 2007 film Rescue Dawn; to prepare for the role, he lost 40 pounds by eating mostly raw food. Zahn has also worked regularly in television, playing the role of Davis McClary on 36 episodes of HBO's Treme. In 2017, Zahn played Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes. He researched the role by watching chimp videos on YouTube, and later said that the motion capture process and lengthy digital takes made Bad Ape "the most challenging acting job I’ve ever had".Rottenberg, Josh (April 21, 2017). "Why Steve Zahn's 'Bad Ape' in 'War for the Planet of the Apes' made director Matt Reeves cry," Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2017.Lammers, Tim (July 13, 2017). "Interview: Steve Zahn Talks 'War of the Planet of the Apes,'" DirectConversations.com. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Personal life Zahn met the author and theater artist Robyn Peterman in 1991 while they were performing in a national tour of Bye Bye Birdie; Peterman is the daughter of clothier J. Peterman. The couple married in 1994 and have two children, Henry (b. 2000) and Audrey (b. 2002). They live on a 360-acre farm outside of Lexington, Kentucky, where Zahn gardens and raises horses, goats, and sheep.Belloni, Matthew (October 27, 2008). "Steve Zahn: What I've Learned," Esquire. Retrieved September 15, 2017. He and his wife also run a local community theater, in which Zahn occasionally performs. Zahn is a lifelong military history buff and has said that one of his biggest regrets was turning down a role in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers."Steve Zahn," interviewed by Doug Boyd (May 29, 2013). Colonel Arthur L. Kelly American Veterans Oral History Collection, University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D in Fine Arts from Northern Kentucky University. A University of Kentucky sports fan, Zahn is often seen at games and events. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * Category:1967 births Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American Lutherans Category:American male comedians Category:American comedians Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:Gustavus Adolphus College alumni Category:Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Category:Independent Spirit Award winners Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Minnesota Category:Male actors of German descent Category:Northern Kentucky University alumni Category:People from Marshall, Minnesota Category:People from Georgetown, Kentucky